Green said of the unseasonal Sale: 'We have a legacy of slow-selling stock we need to get rid of.' One analyst, who asked not to be named, thought the value of the sale stock to be as high as£10 million.

And Seymour Pierce's Richard Ratner said: 'There will be quite a bit of bad stock as they had a shortfall of sales last year and the year before.'

The Sale is the first in a number of changes planned in the business.

However, Ratner said the only way economies of scale could be generated would be through consolidation.

Ratner suggested that one partner might be Wolverhampton-based department store group James Beattie. 'You could take£5 million out of costs if you put the two together,' he said. Ratner believes a successful Green bid for Debenhams is unlikely.

Green has long wanted to be his own boss and wants to replicate the success of his namesake and former employer, billionaire Philip Green.